We Americans are really spoiled when it comes to paper products. There are trees galore and our country is large with lots of resources so we tend to use a lot of paper goods – on our butts, in the kitchen, on our faces and everywhere in between, with little thought to where it comes from or goes. Paper for personal use is thick and soft and pliable, almost like fabric. The Japanese have a very different attitude about paper and paper goods that shows in the final products. Manufacturers in Japan make some great paper products, but disposables are not.
Japanese disposable paper products are not very sturdy or particularly absorbent. Primary reason for the difference is a dedication to recycling and reusable materials that is almost non-existent in the U.S. Partly due to Shinto beliefs – recycling and recycled materials are everywhere in Japan.
Paper Goods Examples
1. Toilet Paper
Toilet paper melts in liquid and is really light and flimsy, even at Fancy American style hotels. Most Americans think this is cheap and awful paper, but it does save more wood pulp from the sewers.
2. Facial Tissue
More commonly called by a major brand name, Kleenex, in the US. Facial tissue is also super thin in Japan – about on par with toilet paper but softer. You will almost always have to fold your tissue in half to get the strength of Kleenex. I always buy the “water” tissue which have moisturizer in them and definitely perform better at keeping your nose from getting raw than you would initially think.
3. Paper Towels
Paper towels are the worst. Americans, you remember the awful, hard, crinkly brown paper towels in every primary school bathroom? They were practically like writing paper and didn’t absorb much at all. That is every Japanese paper towel you find in stores or public bathrooms.
4. Paper napkins
If a place you eat and get a drink has paper napkins, they are almost always tiny, slick, and flimsy. Single ply and one fold, they are smaller in length and width than a paper back book. You will usually get a hot towel or small wipes to clean your hands before you eat.
Most people in Japan carry a hand towel of some sort with them at all times. Towels come in handy in many situations so I’ve taken to carrying one or two with me. Lots of public bathrooms only have blow drivers for your hands or no drying options at all.
If you are super sensitive, bring your own tissues and paper towels with you but please recycle as much as you can in other places. Paper goods are burn-able trash and usually not recycled. Every trash can is labeled in Japan so separate!
What sort of quirky paper products do you have in your country?